Putting a Humorous Twist on the Mundane

Do Flies Suggest Paranormal Activity?

Are a swarm of flies – dead or living an indication of a paranormal presence? Being that this is the information age I thought this would be an easy question to answer via the internet. Well, I was wrong. But first let me start at the beginning:

I was born in Minnetonka, Minnesota. I lived there for the first four or five years of my life before moving on (we moved a lot). I don’t remember much about the house in Minnesota but I do have one vivid memory.

I was probably 3 or 4 at the time and I was playing in the basement. I remember sitting on the floor next to either a sliding glass door or a window. Either way there was lots of light off to one side of the room. I had this plastic doll house that opened and I was playing with it and using this “G.I Joe-like” action figure. The action figure and I were having a conversation. I remember seeing it opening its mouth and speaking to me. During our conversation (I’m sorry to say I don’t remember the details of it) I became distracted and set the figurine down. When I turned back to where it was, it was gone. I remember looking for it and lifting my doll house up to see if it fell in back of it. But still, there was no action figure anywhere. I even remember feeling like I must have been out of my mind (keep in mind I was only 3 or 4 years old). Eventually I lost interest and moved on to something else.

You be the judge. Did it actually happen? Or, was it just an overactive imagination?

A couple of years ago, my mother told me of an actual event that took place in that same basement. My Godmother had come to visit from Wisconsin. While she was there, she took a photo of my sister in the basement (my sister is 2 1/2 years older than me.) A few months later she returned with the photo (digital cameras were still a thing of the future at that time). My mother got chills when she saw the photo. Lurking up high, behind my sister there was an unmistakable, elf-like face. There was absolutely nothing in that room that could have caused that image to appear.

***I wish I had the photo to show. My sister found it shortly after my mother told her the story and apparently it was so faded you really couldn’t see the image. If I come across it the next time I’m visiting, I’ll see if I can upload it to this blog.

So – What about the flies?

Well, one winter, in the basement by the window that I was sitting at during my “conversation” with the action figure, my mother discovered thousands of dead flies that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. This little detail spawned my curiosity regarding any paranormal connection with dead flies. Unfortunately the websites I’ve stumbled on lack a certain amount of credibility. They’re really just forums where random people ask questions and random people answer. However, I did stumble on one forum (http://forums.pennstateprs.com/index.php?/topic/28191-lots-of-dead-flies-what-does-it-mean/) where the individual asking for advice mentioned that during one winter he/she found a bunch of dead flies in there home that they reason (besides the dead flies) to believe was haunted.

Also, reference to the Amityville Horror was made on Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amityville_Horror,. Whether or you’re a believer or not in the Amityville Horror, there is mention on this site of dead flies associated with this house – among other much freakier things.

I haven’t found enough research to satisfy my curiosity of a paranormal connection with dead flies. However my husband’s explanation was by far and away the best. When he saw one of my google searches that read “what do dead flies mean?” He looked at me, patted my shoulder and said, “Honey dead flies mean that the flies are no longer of the living. ‘Cause they died. Hence, dead flies.”

I laughed. The only problem with his answer is that it’s just so…..obvious….and that’s not fun. Where’s the intrigue? Where’s the mystery?

So to recap:

At 3 or 4 I had a conversation with a “figurine” that mysteriously vanished.

The conversation took place near a large window where my mother found thousands of dead flies. It was winter when her discovery was made.

A strange “Elf-like” face appeared in picture with my sister.

Two different websites make mention of dead flies associated with the Amityville House.

One random person mention finding dead flies in a “haunted home” during the winter.

And – my husband is a smart-ass.

If anyone out there has any insight into paranormal activity that involves flies- dead or living; I’d love to know more.